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destroyed. Or at least mine was. I had experienced muscle pain before. In fact, a er one ill-advised cardio kick- boxing session in 2008, I could not sit on a toilet without extreme pain for two days. is was that times 1,000.
I had to physically move my limbs af- ter sitting, standing or lying down
for too long. If I had to walk uphill, I would make swimming motions that inspired great pity in shop owners who would o er to help me up the hill (and into their store). Sitting on a toilet —
a squat or western-style one — was enough to make me moan in agony.
But as time healed my sti ness and the memory of the di culty of the trek faded, I felt a sense of accomplishment I had never experienced before. I had done it. I had gone slowly and I had se- lected the easiest trek, but I still did it. I lost toenails and I couldn’t have been more proud of my battered feet. I had a chance to walk through some of the most challenging and beautiful terrain in the world, and the life lessons were profound.
A er the trek, we boarded another Green Line bus to the gorgeous Chit- wan region, home of a famous national park, which teemed with elephants, rhinos and Bengal tigers (we did not see any tigers, unfortunately). It was
here that we got to meet the some of the women of WELNepal.
A er enjoying the requisite jungle tours, a challenging elephant ride and the kindness of strangers (an extra special thanks to the night guard who walked a group of terri ed tourists back to their hotel a er they stayed out too late and couldn’t navigate the terrain in the dead of night), we met up with a few of WELNepal’s dedicat- ed organizers and took an exhilarat- ing motorbike journey to the women’s groups that surrounded the charity’s Sauraha, Chitwan headquarters.
e women, sitting on the cold ground with books and children in their laps, didn’t look at all disgruntled with their Spartan classrooms. Quite the opposite — they were excited to be learning and excited to meet WELNepal’s Canadian supporters. e women asked ques- tions: where were we from? What did we do? What did we think of Nepal? ey told us how they needed help in other ways, especially for the under- privileged aru (a group of people native to the lowlands of Nepal), the children of Nepal. ey needed more, they said. More classes, more income- generating initiatives, more outreach programs for people in need.We so admired their honesty and their ded-